Schalke 04 vs Bologna 30/07/19

30 July 2019

Schalke 04 and Bologna will face-off at the Sportplatz Langau for a friendly fixture that will see the Germans trying to post their second consecutive win over the Italians following a 2-1 victory in 2015.

Although the Miners have started their pre-season off on the right foot, clinching two wins over the German lower-league teams, they come into this meeting after failing to pick up a victory in three successive outings (D2, L1). Interestingly, all five of Schalke’s friendlies this summer have seen both teams score, with four of them producing over 2.5 goals. Immense defensive problems and unimpressive displays in the final third have almost cost Die Königsblauen the Bundesliga relegation last term. Therefore, David Wagner will be eager to see his team improve in both aspects, especially in defense, as they’ve struggled to preserve a clean slate in 11 of their last 13 outings. Also, Schalke’s unprolific attack has scored one goal or less in five of their previous eight matches.

After securing back-to-back wins over the Italian lower-league sides, in which they’ve scored 14 and conceded none, the Serie A side has suffered a 3-1 loss to the newly-promoted Bundesliga outfit Koln. Bologna’s recent games have, nonetheless, been full of entertainment, as all nine of their last matches produced over 2.5 goals, with six of them seeing both teams score. A free-scoring Bologna team has netted three or more goals on seven occasions across the same period, bagging precisely one goal per match on the remaining two. For the Greyhounds, most of the action takes part in the second half, as 29 of a total 44 goals in those nine games have arrived after the break (65.9).